As the dust settled over the realm of skulls, Kim drew slow breaths, scanning his surroundings. There were no humans, no sounds, no life—only him beneath the cracked red sky, the wind carrying distant screams.
The System whispered in his ear:
— "What will you do?"
He lifted his eyes and saw a black rift forming in the air, swirling like a vortex before opening slowly into a mysterious door surrounded by glowing dark-blue runes. Each rune pulsed like a living heart.
He approached cautiously, reached out—and the moment his fingers touched the first rune, the vortex swallowed him whole.
He opened his eyes to find himself somewhere else. A void world—vast, endless. No sky, no ground, but he felt it was his space. As though this inner expanse had been shaped for his soul alone.
He closed his eyes for a moment, hearing the whispers of the souls he had consumed before. They screamed and laughed inside him, but he ignored them.
Suddenly, a massive ancient chest appeared before him, forged of cracked black metal leaking strange red smoke. Atop it lay a glowing seal like a divine shackle.
The System spoke slowly:
— "Beware… this chest holds a soul sealed for thousands of years. If you open it, you will not remain as you are."
But Kim smiled coldly:
— "I've already lost my humanity… why fear what's left?"
He reached out, and with a single touch the seal shattered. The chest trembled and opened with a sharp metallic groan. From inside poured a thick black light, like living flame.
From within the flame emerged a chained soul, half human, half beast, its eyes burning red. It screamed, shaking the void:
— "At last… someone freed me… your body… will be mine!"
Before he could react, the soul lunged at him and pierced his chest.
A black lightning storm surged through his body. He fell to his knees, screaming, blood pouring from his eyes and nose.
The System shouted:
— "Kim! This is a cursed soul! It's trying to seize your body! Fight it… or you'll become its puppet!"
Inside himself, a terrible battle erupted.
He found himself standing in his mental world, the cursed soul before him laughing madly, each blow it struck shattering a piece of his being.
— Soul: "You're weak… you killed hundreds, but you're just a vessel… and I… will be master of this body!"
— Kim: "A vessel?… No. I am the grave that swallows your kind!"
Then the shadows of the souls he had absorbed surged around him. For the first time, they did not try to destroy him—they fought beside him. Each soul screamed, lunging at the cursed spirit, tearing it apart and lending Kim their strength.
He raised his hand, his eyes blazing red and black:
— "I… am the Soul Eater… and I will not be your meal!"
He struck with a force that shook the void. The cursed soul screamed as it fractured, but before vanishing it whispered with a mad laugh:
— "You have absorbed me… but my will will not fade… I will live inside this body… inside you… forever."
And indeed, it disappeared—but Kim felt a new, fierce power coursing through his veins, as though an eternal fire had ignited within.
A crimson notification appeared before him:
> Cursed Soul Absorbed.
Skill Acquired: "Throne of the Abyss."
Description: When activated, an eternal abyss opens within the hero's chest, drawing in nearby souls—both living enemies and the dead. Each soul absorbed becomes a new "stone" in his dark throne, strengthening him further.
Side Effect: With each use, the hero steps closer to becoming a vessel of the Abyss itself, losing part of his humanity and turning into the Void.
Dominion: This skill is said not merely to be a weapon, but a declaration of ownership over souls—as if the hero proclaims, "All who have died or will die… are mine."
Kim stood, panting, a cold smile spreading across his face.
— "Cursed soul or not… I will make your curse my weapon."
He wondered, as he had for a while, about the strange window only he could see—listing every skill he used.
— "Could this be my own personal System? Yet it says 'Hell's Puppet'… I truly don't understand what's going to happen to me…"